Green Trout

Anybody target the LM Bass or as other species of bass with their ultralight gear ?
After all they are a member of the sunfish family .
I’ve caught a few small LM’s while targeting gills. , but haven’t really targeted them specifically.
I’m thinking of going after them my next trip to the town pond .
Thinking of using the drop shot rig with the tail of a finesse worm on a size 6 or 8 hook .
I plan on taking some jig spinners too .
Maybe use a piece of plastic worm to make a mini Ned rig .
What would you use if you wanted to target the green trout this time of year ?

When I go “in search of “ whatever bites, I use search baits. Rooster tails, silver and white, and beetle spins with whatever colors they prefer that day. I sometimes bump the size a notch or two. And a two inch curl tail on whatever head is needed to make the cast. That usually keeps me busy. Small Rapala’s and 1/4oz rattle traps work too.

I used to consider myself a bass fisherman. A hundred and fifty rods in the boat, seven thousand lures in a tackle organization system that almost consumed the belly of my boat, all of it, the whole deal. One day my fishing partner (Mrs. gunwhatgun) asked me if I missed the days of going fishing and catching lots of fish and mused on why we didn't seem to catch as many fish as we used to when we used things like crickets and minnows and worms and such. I laughed and explained how we had moved up form that and were better fisherman for it. She looked and me plainly and said "Oh, I see now, I just like catching fish, but my casting has got a lot better."

All of that to say, I feel like intentionally bass fishing is for guys that really like to cast. When I got back to bluegill/what ever bites kind of fishing my bite to cast ratio went through the roof. Bass fishing has like a 750:1 cast to bite ratio. I don't mind catching bass, I actually like catching them on ultralight gear even more. Intentionally targeting them in lieu of just "fishing"....no thanks.

My opinions aside, I would try inline spinners, Mepps, Rooster tails, Foxx, any of them. I might also try Nikko worms Carolina style or ned rigged.

I might add , 99% of the time I fish for whatever bites .
I just thought I’d try to increase my chances of catching a few bass just for the enjoyment of something different.
The tiny baits I’ve been using have been aimed at gills . The few little bass I caught were fun .
I do enjoy fishing beetlespin type lures , but get tired of the constant cast retrieve routine in short time.
I’ll probably get tired of casting after a half hour or so and go back to my tiny baits .

I catch about 1000 Spotted bass a year on UL tackle. In July and August it is what I am after...why....because they are easy to catch. KY bass and Smallies love tiny lures. While I will catch largemouth I do not target them. But I have landed several largemouth at the 22 inch mark on my UL rods using 2# test line. In the spring I constantly catch largemouth while I am fishing for shellcracker. I would catch a lot more largemouth if I used spinners or paddle tail lures.....but I prefer to not get into them at all. Here is video link of a common day in summer catching Spots...and also a day where I was in into some trophy Smallies...all on UL and 2# test line. Trophy smallmouth caught on Trout Magnet using Finezza Prototype Ultra Light Rod. - YouTube
Strike while the fire is hot! - YouTube


Regards

Shooting docks is a crap shoot most of the time. At any given time you can hook into a bruiser blue cat, and good bass with lots of steam, or something as unique as a mirror carp. None of those are targeted but will certainly get your blood pumping fighting that critter out into open water to get a chance to bring it alongside the boat

My town pond is shallow and probably less than five acres . No docks , although there is a bridge .
It has Bluegills , a few redear sunfish ( shellcracker) and largemouth bass . That’s it , . except for a few branch minnows .
The days will have to get longer and the weather warmer before I venture out to lakes that provide other species to try for .
I have caught LM to five pounds on my UL’s using my micro jigs , but the larger fish are not a regular catch .
With the cold weather and water , sometimes the small LM’s are more eager to bite than the gills , but I have to offer them something other than a small bug to consistently catch them .
The beetlespin type lures have probably been my most productive followed by a downsized plastic lure .
I may tie up some larger versions of my woolybooger jigs , maybe on a 1/16th jighead and give them a try .
I just thought somebody might suggest something different than what I use , something they have had good luck with , during the winter months, in cold water , on small ponds .
BTW , these fish get a lot of pressure and see a lot of the regular bass baits .

JMHO so please don't shoot the messenger:

First off, when you cast downsized lures on light jigs, you can't target any fish species. Everything bites them from 7 lb catfish to 4 lb white sucker to 3.5 lb bass to panfish of all types. I'm not talking mini finesse lures like trout flies or Trout Magnets, but 2-3.5" lures - especially soft plastics. Ditto for crankbaits, in-line spinners, small tubes, wacky-rigged 2" mini sticks, swimbaits, 3" jerkbaits and small spinnerbaits.
examples:
spike tail grub
https://i.imgur.com/axpLwdi.jpg
Mini-stick
https://i.imgur.com/EdGAvb5.jpg?1https://i.imgur.com/vNa4qxj.jpg

spinner with curl tail
https://i.imgur.com/E6nx3Hn.jpg

fork tail
https://i.imgur.com/FAuN8I4.jpg

thin straight tail
https://i.imgur.com/SgiohtM.jpg?1https://i.imgur.com/dWYuutY.jpg?2

cone tail
https://i.imgur.com/oG6wcBh.jpg?1

Joker tail
https://i.imgur.com/BaITEDU.jpg?1

Kut Tail
https://i.imgur.com/kZFDzdY.jpg?1

The above were caught in late Sept. to mid Oct. in water 4-7'. BTW most colors work - some colors work all year - even clear plastic. Most important, jigheads should be no larger than 1/16 oz with hook size matched to lure length.

If you do want to target LM, you cast larger lures that panfish won't bite using presentations that provoke bass strikes. But as with any fish in colder water, lures that can be presented slower work better than faster moving lures that require a steady retrieve. The more areas cast to the better the odds of connecting - especially open-water areas, whereas shorelines and water shallower than 4' don't usually turn on until the water warms.

Photos don't lie.

mini crawdad imitations and small worms in motor oil coloration and the mini spinner baits would be what I would carry .
possibly some small crank bait and a small top water as well .
bass are pretty easy to figure out in small waters , but keep this in mind .
they for sure have a memory of about 1 month and don't bite baits they bit before very often if you visit there a lot.
used to target them in several smaller waters in private locations and they do not like whatever they bit the last 2 or 3 visits .
my favorite for sure is a 6 inch riverside in motor oil coloration on light line with a split shot up the line a bit from the worm :highfive
second is a mini king spinner bait with a curly tail on the jig in a "sunfish" or fire tiger coloration .

The comments above are dead on. You are liable to catch any fish in your water. I don't target largemouth but catch a bunch of them and spots because my home lake has some very good smallmouth, and I do target them. I also enjoy casting a baitcast reel so here is a 3600 sized box that is always in my boat with my crappie jigs. I catch a bunch of crappie with them also most of the year.
Attachment 418286

Sent from my SM-G991U using Crappie.com Fishing mobile app

Only a couple in that box weigh 1/8 oz. Most are in the neighborhood of 1/16 oz. The majority are sinking lures also so I can work deeper than 5 or 6 feet.

Sent from my SM-G991U using Crappie.com Fishing mobile app

I fish 1/32 road runners mainly if not using live bait . I use various plastics like fle fly minnow, crappie / trout magnet , Sliders , ect . I catch a little of everything .One morning on trace lake in north MS . Attachment 418308Attachment 418309Attachment 418310

Quote:

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. I use various plastics like fle fly minnow, crappie / trout magnet , Sliders , ect . I catch a little of everything .

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There ya go!

Yeah, that’s a fine mess o’fish, Eagle. Congrats on a good trip!
Bob

Nice catches !

When it comes to LM I'm at the mercy of our fish and game department for re-stocking as necessary. One I'm a shore-only angler (no boat) and two we have several local ponds supposedly teeming with them BUT I've also heard several other fellow anglers said there were years where we have "winter kill off" when it's just too cold for most to survive because ponds dept is no more than 11 feet at the middle for these low 30's we been getting southern Nevada, though I don't know if there's any truth to that. The very few LM bass I caught mostly accidental when they hit a floatNjig or flies dropshotting rig.

A few years ago I had a winter kill in my pond that killed almost all the fish in it. Snowfall was brutal at over 5' high on average. I didn't know that the suspended algae in a pond produces oxygen even in winter that allow fish to survive. But without light, algae dies and so did the fish. Over 110 fish were floating on the surface once the ice melted in March. The pond is 8' deep. If I knew then what I know now, I would have removed large areas of snow for light to pass through the ice which was 5" thick.

The acreage and 11' water depth should have no problem supporting life - especially aquatic plants - and unless floating fish are seen after ice out - no fish kill.

I do catch quite a number of good size bass while targeting crappie with light tackle. I don’t usually targeting bass because it wastes my precious time fishing for crappies. If I’m going for multi species, I will up my tackle a little with 1/16-1/8oz road runner.
Now I’m still a bass fisherman, and if I want bass I’ll bring a big gun for those big bass.

That last one is a real hog, JB. Thanks for the pics.
Bob

Quote:

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Originally Posted by LVSpinfisher1

When it comes to LM I'm at the mercy of our fish and game department for re-stocking as necessary. One I'm a shore-only angler (no boat) and two we have several local ponds supposedly teeming with them BUT I've also heard several other fellow anglers said there were years where we have "winter kill off" when it's just too cold for most to survive because ponds dept is no more than 11 feet at the middle for these low 30's we been getting southern Nevada, though I don't know if there's any truth to that. The very few LM bass I caught mostly accidental when they hit a floatNjig or flies dropshotting rig.

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not sure if its is possible to kill off bass in really cold water , likely something else if it occurs , we have lots of shallow ponds in this State and the water can gets really ugly in late summer when its really low , lack of oxygen is the killer here .

A lot of baits have already been mentioned, countdown Rapala are awesome. Shadrap is one of the best cold water crankbaits out there.

Ultra Light Shad(R)

I've no doubt everyone who think its impossible that winter kill is the cause lack of LM bass in our local ponds, thank goodness I don't target them like I used to when Lake Mead water level was at 70 to 85% full when I moved to Southern Nevada. Could be just coincident they were over-harvested, but as the fishes getting smaller so are my arsenal of tackles, hence why I ended up here in the UL/panfish forum...:)

We know about pressure down here also LV. I stopped chasing green fish due to that and a couple of other reasons. I learned to downsize and stay busier than most before that time, so it was just a natural progression to get lighter still and wind up here.

I don't target bass with ultralights, but I don't mind an accidental catch. In March when the water starts to warm I usually fish the bottom in the middle portion of coves in 10 - 15 feet of water and seem to catch quite a few largemouth bass on the 1/64th ounce jigs I'm using for bluegill. Some get up to about 14 inches and give a great fight on 2 lb. test mono and a light rod. The rest of the year they seem to leave my jigs alone for the most part and that is fine too since I'm not fishing for them. I do have a lot of bass tackle and still target them sometimes, but less as I get older.

I’m with you guys that I don’t target bass, but I sure don’t complain when I hook into a nice smallie. They are real fun to fight on U/L and only once did I feel under gunned on my creek. It was a PB and I had to beach it!
Bob